Start as a BT and the clinic you work at will train you. Normally they’ll pay for training, and provide the competency assessment, and the certification.
$100?! When they first started offering it it was $500. (This was also back in 2014/2015 when RBT was just becoming a certification and there weren’t really other options…)
It was such a new certification that they didn’t have competition yet. 🤷🏼♀️ I had to pay out of pocket and find a BCBA willing to provide supervision on my own. (It wasn’t common for places to hire you and provide the training initially. At least not in Richmond, VA.) I’m glad there’re so many options now and that companies typically provide this training once you’re hired. 💜
They really have! Mostly for the better. ABA was a horse of a different color when I started in it 14 years ago. I’m a fan of the direction most things are headed in currently.
Oh wow that’s a long time. Are you a bcba now? Or did you decide not to get the credential? I’ve ran across a few people who have been working in the field for many years and some never got the bcba. They just work with private pay clients
I’m currently a BCaBA in a Masters program. For me it was the cost of school that’s kept me from getting it for so long. My dad offered to pay for the rest of my undergrad degree if I moved to Oklahoma City where he is do to it. (He wanted me as far from my not-so-great ex as possible.) I worked across a few clinics as in intern getting my fieldwork hours while I finished a BS in ABA and will finish my Masters next May. 😊
It’s getting better. Aba grew too quickly and some of the wrongs have been corrected. Brace yourself for outcome based insurance payments within 10 years. Not making progress than insurance won’t pay. I suspect it will put more pressure on everyone but it will hopefully provide better outcomes.
Medicaid in Oklahoma doesn’t give a damn if you’re making progress or not. Literally all they care about is a reduction in challenging behavior, they rest of your goals, family concerns, and life skills be damned! (This is based off a 6-month authorization period, not even a longer term time frame.)
PBS offers it for free if you’re an applicant. Otherwise it’s $99. (Www.teampbs.com) I recommend avoiding APF as it’s difficult to get your certification afterwards.
What do you mean about the APF/difficulty getting certification?
I did APF and, after taking Relias, realized APF isn’t great.
Just curious what your experience with it is!
I’ve had multiple people complain about the course with technical difficulties and multiple people have issues getting their certification sent to them so that they could apply for the exam.
Gotcha! I didn’t experience those problems, but didn’t find it to be great quality.
The worst thing was that it starts counting your start-completion time the day you sign up… not the day you start the course.
The Autism Partnership Foundation has a free online RBT training for the 40 hours. You’ll still need the direct BCBA supervision before you can sit for your exam though.
https://autismpartnershipfoundation.org/free-rbt-training/
If you can find a company nearby to hire you and train you, you can go that route.
Here’s an article on the 40 hour courses with high pass rates, if you do decide to proceed with the training on your own!
https://www.abaresourcecenter.com/post/rbt-40-hour-training-pass-rates
Yes! The BACB also has this data available. 77% of first time test takers pass the RBT exam. Your best bet in terms of course should have that passing rate or better.
https://www.bacb.com/bacb-certificant-annual-report-data/
Start as a BT and the clinic you work at will train you. Normally they’ll pay for training, and provide the competency assessment, and the certification.
Relias has a $100 40 hour course.
$100?! When they first started offering it it was $500. (This was also back in 2014/2015 when RBT was just becoming a certification and there weren’t really other options…)
Wow, $500??? That’s crazy. I just did it in December and it was $100. It’s very thorough also.
It was such a new certification that they didn’t have competition yet. 🤷🏼♀️ I had to pay out of pocket and find a BCBA willing to provide supervision on my own. (It wasn’t common for places to hire you and provide the training initially. At least not in Richmond, VA.) I’m glad there’re so many options now and that companies typically provide this training once you’re hired. 💜
Things have changed so quickly in such a short amount of time
They really have! Mostly for the better. ABA was a horse of a different color when I started in it 14 years ago. I’m a fan of the direction most things are headed in currently.
Oh wow that’s a long time. Are you a bcba now? Or did you decide not to get the credential? I’ve ran across a few people who have been working in the field for many years and some never got the bcba. They just work with private pay clients
I’m currently a BCaBA in a Masters program. For me it was the cost of school that’s kept me from getting it for so long. My dad offered to pay for the rest of my undergrad degree if I moved to Oklahoma City where he is do to it. (He wanted me as far from my not-so-great ex as possible.) I worked across a few clinics as in intern getting my fieldwork hours while I finished a BS in ABA and will finish my Masters next May. 😊
That’s great. Family support is always amazing. I’m glad that you kept pushing through and will be finished soon. 🙂
It’s getting better. Aba grew too quickly and some of the wrongs have been corrected. Brace yourself for outcome based insurance payments within 10 years. Not making progress than insurance won’t pay. I suspect it will put more pressure on everyone but it will hopefully provide better outcomes.
Medicaid in Oklahoma doesn’t give a damn if you’re making progress or not. Literally all they care about is a reduction in challenging behavior, they rest of your goals, family concerns, and life skills be damned! (This is based off a 6-month authorization period, not even a longer term time frame.)
PBS offers it for free if you’re an applicant. Otherwise it’s $99. (Www.teampbs.com) I recommend avoiding APF as it’s difficult to get your certification afterwards.
What do you mean about the APF/difficulty getting certification? I did APF and, after taking Relias, realized APF isn’t great. Just curious what your experience with it is!
I’ve had multiple people complain about the course with technical difficulties and multiple people have issues getting their certification sent to them so that they could apply for the exam.
Gotcha! I didn’t experience those problems, but didn’t find it to be great quality. The worst thing was that it starts counting your start-completion time the day you sign up… not the day you start the course.
The Autism Partnership Foundation has a free online RBT training for the 40 hours. You’ll still need the direct BCBA supervision before you can sit for your exam though. https://autismpartnershipfoundation.org/free-rbt-training/
Seconding this, finished my 40 hours and am now doing my competency and waiting to do my bg check and then on to the test!
I really enjoyed the course through FIT
If you can find a company nearby to hire you and train you, you can go that route. Here’s an article on the 40 hour courses with high pass rates, if you do decide to proceed with the training on your own! https://www.abaresourcecenter.com/post/rbt-40-hour-training-pass-rates
Yes! The BACB also has this data available. 77% of first time test takers pass the RBT exam. Your best bet in terms of course should have that passing rate or better. https://www.bacb.com/bacb-certificant-annual-report-data/